Merced - Police investigated two armed robberies in the south Merced area today. The first robbery occurred at the recycling center next to the Best Buy Market. In the first robbery the suspect was described as a black male adult wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt with a bandana covering his face along with dark sunglasses.

The suspect brandished a handgun at the clerk and demanded money. The clerk than give the suspect an undisclosed amount of money and the suspect fled the area on foot.

MADERA – Shots rang out in Madera Thursday night on West Fourth Street. While an Officer was finishing an unrelated investigation at Madera Community Hospital the victim of a gunshot wound was brought to the hospital’s emergency room by a relative.

The relative advised the officer that the victim had been beaten up. The Officer responded by calling for medical staff at the hospital to come and treat the victim. He was taken into MCH and provided care before being transported to Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno for more advanced treatment. The victim is in stable condition.

MERCED - Early last Saturday Merced Police Detectives Paul Johnson and Brian Rodriguez were working a burglary detail patrolling the area of the Merced Mall, when they discovered that the south door to JC Penny had been smashed. The discovery was made before the alarm to the store had gone off. The suspect smashed the south side door with a rock that was later found inside the store.

Once inside, the suspect went directly to the cash registered, ransacked the counter area and left the store without getting any money and only a couple of shirts. Prior to the burglary, both detectives saw an individual who they know as Ronnie Chestnut riding his bicycle in the area. Chestnut was arrested last week for possession of stolen property from the Peraino’s Jewelers burglary that occurred on March 4th and is the same individual who was arrested in a stolen vehicle after he crashed into the Merced Police Department south station on January 31st.

MADERA - Investors were shocked to learn of the criminal past of head of the Yosemite Motor Speedway. Madera Online has uncovered forty-five pages of documents that show that the chairman of the racetrack's board of directors faced seventeen counts of fraud, two counts of racketeering and two attempted 3rd degree felonies in New Mexico less than ten years ago.

After a mistrial and a hung jury, Jerry Lowrie agreed to a plea-bargain deal in which he plead guilty to two counts of fraud. Both counts came with an 18-month prison sentence which was to be served consecutively and one year of state parole.